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A visit to the wonderful Marton Heath Trout Pools in Cheshire for some Woodpecker photography. It was late in the day and extremely hot so the hide was a little uncomfortable at times. A juvenile and an adult male eventually showed well after an hour or so of teasing with flypasts and distant perches on a pre-feed post.

This male Blackcap made a first ever appearance in the garden this week and has settled in so well that he has returned daily. This is one of the new breed  of over wintering birds that refuse to fly to the south of Europe.


The Redpoll numbers continue to rise with a garden hightest count of 17 very early one  morning, although they all seem to be Lesser Redpolls (image below) I may have had a Mealy Redpoll, unfortunatly no image to clarify its true ID.

I dont get too many visits now from Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, however a little over a year ago a small family were virtually ever present during the summer & autumn. This family included a very young male, maybe this is the same bird coming back to a familiar feeding ground, I like to think so.....



He didnt stay too long, but fed on the peanuts and some lard that is smeared on a tree trunk!